National Petroleum Authority, Ghana

Your Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor, President of the Republic of Ghana,
Honourable Ministers of State, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Nii Meh and Naa Meh, Nananom, delegation from Vitol SA, distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
I deem it a great honour and privilege to welcome you to this special occasion in the life of our young and fledging company. we know that there are several pressing demands on your time, but you have chosen to place this occasion at the top of your priority list, gives us the honour and immense pleasure to thank you and to assure you that we shall forever be grateful for your attendance. We are convinced that your visit to us today will not be the last and that henceforth you will no doubt keenly follow our progress.
We consider all of you as our friends; hence we reserve the right to share our successes as well as trying times with you.

Barely sixteen months ago, this land that we are currently occupying was bare with only a small wooden shed perched on it as a timber workshop with no business activity. through the vision and drive of our executive chairman, the support of Vitol SA, our trading partners, the dynamism of the national petroleum authority, the co-operation of Tema oil refinery and the hard work of GLOTEC Engineering Limited and its team of sub-contractors, we, and I mean all of us, have the first indigenous-owned petroleum terminal in Ghana.

Indeed this is yet another confirmation that our local entrepreneurs, given the right national environment and policies, can meet the challenges of the times.

Your Excellency, Mr. President, I am referring to the liberal democratic environment which your government has promoted during the last eight years , that is the golden age of business, which has encouraged bold entrants of both local and foreign investors into the Ghanaian economy. There is the confidence that investment is safe and opportunities abound for genuine investors. We congratulate you for your good leadership.

Permit me Mr. President, to state without fear or favour that the National Petroleum Authority, (NPA) in short, deserves special mention for the able manner in which it had introduced and implemented the policy of de-regulation of the petroleum sector, considering the rather volatile international oil market environment. Today’s event could not have come about but for the de-regulation of the petroleum industry in Ghana. We can also recount that the policy has brought the benefit of transferring some of the associated risks of petroleum importation from government to the private sector, who are using sophisticated financial market instruments to manage these risks, in order to stay within the National Petroleum Authority pricing policy framework. No doubt there are more challenges ahead; but we are convinced that they, the NPA, will be equal to the tasks ahead.

Your Excellency Mr. President, without sounding repetitive, There is the need to mention the co-operation we have received and hopefully will continue to receive from the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR). By the nature of our current set up, we may appear to be competitors in certain areas, however to us at Cirrus, we see ourselves as playing a supportive role rather than the contrary.

Throughout the period of development and construction, we have worked closely with the Environmental Protection Agency, Ghana National Fire Service, Ghana Standards Board, Electricity Company of Ghana, Ghana Water Company, Volta River Authority, Tema Development Corporation, Tema Metropolitan Authority, Customs Excise and Preventive Service, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre and the various quality inspection agencies. We thank all of them for their high sense of duty and co-operation.

Following the de-regulation of the petroleum industry and the grant of bulk distribution licence to cirrus, the company in 2007, started developing this petroleum terminal. This is because it is a key infrastructure to enable Cirrus carry out its functions under the bulk distribution licence. The facility consists of bulk oil storage tanks for gasoline, gas oil and aviation fuel. It also has a modern truck loading rack capable of loading several trucks simultaneously, controlled with a state-of-the-art computer system, including remote monitoring of receipt, storage and issue of products, modern fire fighting system and control building. Plans are also far advanced for the provision of more storage tanks, truck park, welfare block and offices for the oil marketing companies.

We believe that the facility will go a long way to remove some of the bottlenecks in the bulk storage and delivery system in the petroleum industry in Ghana.

Your Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana, permit me to look into the future of the oil industry in Ghana, even though not with a crystal ball. There is no doubt that thanks to providence, the tremendous work of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation and all other allied bodies, the future looks bright for the oil industry in Ghana. However, we as a country cannot reap the full potential it holds unless we brace ourselves to meet the immense challenges that it will bring. Without pretending to be fully conversant with its full implications and within our present time constraints, permit me sir, to touch on just a few related issues.

First and foremost is a regulatory environment which is fair, transparent and will enhance competition for the benefit of all stakeholders.

Then is the need for capacity building, an essential requirement within capacity building for human resource development in the right calibre and numbers as well as skills training.

Another essential requirement in capacity building is integrated infrastructure. We also need to remind ourselves that over-capacity in any area will be wasteful and more importantly, serve as disincentive to investment. May we in all humility, call on the various regulatory agencies to be mindful of the need to give strong leadership to ensure that resources and indeed investments, are properly channeled so as to yield the required benefits to all stakeholders.
It is essential that in all these, the prominent role of the local entrepreneur should be emphasized, as has been the case in Malaysia, Singapore and Japan, the development of our economy should be of supreme concern to the local entrepreneur than any external individual or organization. They should therefore be encouraged to play a key role in developing the Ghanaian economy. In short only Ghanaians can develop their economy.

Your Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana, last but not the least; irrespective of our level of endowment, we should never lose sight of the issue of social responsibility, for it cannot and should not be ignored in any society which prides itself with democratic values and concern for needs of the less privileged in society. We recognize that investment without recourse to societal needs amounts to short-sighted and in the long term detrimental to the overall peaceful co-existence of society. This company intends to continue with its regular contributions to the developmental needs of society. I am glad to mention therefore that quite apart from sponsoring personnel from the Attorney-Generals Department on overseas training in petroleum law; plans are far advanced for Cirrus to support the development of the health sector.

Your Excellency, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, before I take my seat let me please assure you that we have a listening ear for you; therefore we will be happy at all times to receive your concerns and attempt to address them. We will always value and appreciate your pieces of advice and encouragement and of course your gentle reproach, should we go wrong.

Finally please accept our heartfelt gratitude for being with us on this special day. May God almighty bless and keep you. Thank you.